


A Comic Book Romance

by devilduckieee



Category: Glee
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-17
Updated: 2012-03-17
Packaged: 2017-11-02 01:41:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/363611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devilduckieee/pseuds/devilduckieee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rachel deserved her own fairy tale and Sam wanted to give her one she'd always remember.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Comic Book Romance

Sam had proposed to Rachel the night he got his official diploma in the mail. He had plotted and planned everything in his head, everything except for what her answer would be. 

xXx

The School of Visual Arts in New York was kind of impressive, but what really sold him was that he could major in Cartooning where most other schools would’ve made him major in Illustration. He applied to those other schools too, but Sam wanted SVA and New York. He knew that he wanted to create comic books and live in the city that inspired the metropolises of his favorite stories. Sam also liked the idea of being in the same city as some of his friends. 

It was kind of amusing to Sam, how so many people in the Glee Club actually ended up in New York. That kind of stuff doesn’t happen. Sam liked to think that they were all destined to be together. They might not have super powers, but they all had come to each other’s rescue at some point. 

Rachel had ended up at the dorms, something about wanting the true college experience. Kurt, on the other hand, didn’t want that at all and started talking roommates to all the future New York people, which is how Sam ended up sharing a two bedroom apartment in Hell’s Kitchen with Kurt, Brittany and Santana. The arrangement was oddly perfect. Their schedules were all over the place, but Sam and Santana had quickly bonded over having a more traditional schooling route and roommates who were constantly dancing and singing.

Santana’s the best wingman ever, which is probably why he started dating Rachel within a couple months of them all having moved to the city. It was only a couple weeks after that when Santana smacked him on the back of the head and told him, “You’re in love with her, you idiot. You’re totally fucked, Trouty.”

Santana was totally right, but he didn’t mind much. Rachel was like his favorite heroines. He never understood what Rachel was talking about when he’d wrap her in his arms and she’d start crying, having been told that she’s not beautiful enough for a role. Broadway was bullshit if they couldn’t see how gorgeous Rachel was, inside and out. Heck, she was more beautiful than Wonder Woman and just as strong in his eyes. 

In order to graduate from SVA, Sam had to turn in a thesis assignment. It had to be complete and something originated for this thesis specifically. It couldn’t be one of the graphic novels he was already selling in independent stores around the city. As with most art schools, they were vague with the criteria for the thesis in an attempt to allow creativity to flow for the artists, the only thing that was demanded was a theme of achievement. Sam instantly knew what he wanted to do.

He’d been thinking of it for a while now, proposing to Rachel. They’d been living together for the past year and he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Sam wanted to wake up to her for the rest of his life, but he knew he had to plan it out perfectly. It was Rachel, and she loved him, which meant he could’ve gotten away with something simple, but she deserved something epic. Rachel loved stories and Sam wanted to give her one. Literally.

It wasn’t that hard to keep his assignment hidden from Rachel. She had actually landed a role in an off Broadway show (“Which is way better than actual Broadway, Sam. This means I have an edge. I’m edgy. Oh! This is so exciting!”) So every night, except Monday, she was at the theatre until late. He had plenty of time to pencil, ink and color to his heart’s content. Sam had thought it’d be easier, transcribing his life into ink and paper, but it took him longer than it usually did. He needed to get all of the moments just right.

He started off the book with how they met and the little milestones in their relationship. Sam made sure to get every detail correct as he illustrated their favorite spot in Central Park, their favorite restaurant, and the places where each of them said I love you for the first time. Sam had said it first. He had just finished his shift at Le Pain Quotidien and was tired from the all nighter he had pulled the previous night, having procrastinated too long with his two dimensional design final. Sam had walked out the front door to find Rachel, across the street in her bright red pea coat (he liked to call it her cape), leaning against the green fence of Bryant Park smiling at him and holding the brand new issue of the Avengers reboot. He’d been looking forward to it for ages. Sam couldn’t believe that he forgot it was Wednesday, let alone that he forgot it was _that_ Wednesday.

“God, Rachel, I’m so in love with you.” Sam wasn’t even aware that the words slipped through his mouth as he gently took the book from her hands and enthusiastically wrapped her up in a hug. He only noticed after he’d been staring at the book in his hands for a couple minutes, a huge smile on his face, when he realized that Rachel was oddly silent. Sam looked up to see Rachel staring at him, her eyes larger than normal, with a stunned expression on her face. 

Three weeks and five days later, Rachel returned the statement.

They’d been at lunch with Santana, it was a ritual he and Santana started while they were living with each other. Every Monday, to escape Brittany and Kurt, they’d go grab lunch at VYNL and congratulate themselves on being so clever. No one would think of looking for them in a place frequented by the Broadway crowd. It was usually just Santana and Sam, but sometimes Brittany or Rachel would come along when plans failed through. Sam had been in an intense debate with Santana as to whether camping is a valid position in multiplayer games, when he froze mid sentence. Rachel and Santana had looked at him curiously, but he just turned to Rachel and said, “Hey isn’t that that Norbert dude from Wicked?” Then turned back to Santana and jumped back into the debate, like it was nothing. There were few things in life that could distract Sam from comic books and videogames, and Rachel had just realized that she was one of them. When they left the restaurant and Santana went in her opposite direction, Rachel pulled him into a kiss before whispering into his ear that she was in love with him too.

Sam didn’t quite remember Norbert’s face well enough to think it accurate, so he took some artistic license in his book and drew Norbert with a red vest. He knew that Rachel would get it. He then chronicled his adventures with Santana in looking for a ring. Not just a ring, the perfect ring for Rachel. 

Sam made sure to keep out all references that Santana had made to Rachel calling it her precious, no matter how hilarious he found them. He was trying to get Rachel to marry him and if he was lucky, his future kids would be reading the book. There was no way he wanted to explain that to them, especially with his plans of reading them Tolkien before bed. His kids might be destined to be the nerdiest kids ever, but they needed to be raised with the right kind of stories. It wouldn’t be cool if they associated their mom with Smeagol. Sam (and Rachel) knew that it was Santana’s way of showing love, but his future kids were impressionable. Plus, it probably wouldn’t have been a good idea when he was trying to woo Rachel into saying yes, no matter how much he enjoys watching Rachel and Santana fight. 

The next section of the book showed Sam flying back to Ohio and visiting The Fathers Berry. He had the whole proposal idea sketched out on paper in pencil, and had handed over the papers with shaky hands to Leroy before launching into a monologue (that Rachel would’ve been proud of) as to why they should give him their permission to ask for Rachel’s hand in marriage. Sam knew that he didn’t have to, that the ultimate decision was Rachel’s, but she loved romance. Old fashioned romances, being wooed, courting, all that stuff she pretended she didn’t like, but Sam could tell just from her favorite movies. He wanted to do right by Rachel. When he left the Berry home, it was with huge smiles and tears in Hiram’s eyes.

Sam had finished the graphic novel a week before it was due and brought it over to Santana and Brittany’s apartment. He made sure that Kurt would be there too, if Sam had missed anything in his proposal, they’d catch it. They’d all made other friends along the way, but no one knew him and Rachel like those three. Plus, Santana was going to be his best man, he had even drawn her in a tux for his proposal montage on the last pages of the book, if anyone was going to give him an honest opinion about all of this, it’d be her. It was perfect though, she told him so. So did Kurt, and Brittany pouted and apologized to Santana for not proposing to her with a comic book. 

It was complete. He just had to wait until his drawn time.

He’d gotten an A+ on the assignment, which was nice, but he couldn’t care less about. He knew it was amazing. What he wasn’t sure of was Rachel’s answer, despite Kurt’s encouragement. Both of their careers were just starting, she might not have seen it as the right time. All these last minute what ifs popped into his head as he sat next to Rachel while she read his novel, he wanted to fidget. Sam had all this nervous energy and it was making his stomach churn, but he couldn't let his nerves show. He didn’t want Rachel to feel pressured into an answer; he’d work with whatever she said. Sam would never give up on Rachel. When she finished reading, the final page showing hands holding an open box with a ring inside with a caption of: “Will you marry me…” Tears were running down her face. Sam’s gut dropped. He couldn’t tell if they were happy tears or not, but he couldn’t back out now.

Sam took the black velvet ring box out of his pocket and got down on one knee. He opened the box to reveal the ring that he knew was perfect for Rachel, a ring that he was going to make her keep either way, because it was so perfect for her.

“Rachel, you make me so happy. I would be honored if you’d let me spend the rest of our lives making you feel the same.” He took a deep breath, stealing his nerves, and looked her in the eyes, “Rachel Barbara Berry, will you marry me?”

Rachel started nodding before he even finished the question, then grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in for a kiss. Her tears covered his face, but he didn’t care. All that mattered to him in the world was currently in his arms and he didn’t want to let go.

“Uhm, Rach, you kinda didn’t answer…” Sam smiled as they pulled away from the kiss, “I mean, not that you didn’t just make it clear, but I’d like to hear it officially.”

Rachel tilted her head and looked at him like he was the most adorable puppy she’d ever seen, then licked and bit her bottom lip. Something Sam had grown to know was her way of resisting laughter. He didn’t know what was so funny about this moment, but he’d wait for her response. Rachel gave him a soft smile and brought her palm to his face, lightly stroking his cheekbone with her thumb, before whispering, “Achievement unlocked: marriage.”


End file.
